Multimode stack and shingle document feeder

ABSTRACT

A feeder for feeding media items from a tray includes a first nudger roller and a second nudger roller. The first and the second nudger roller are moveably mounted to the feeder. The first and the second nudger rollers are in a first position when a tray of a first type is connected to said feeder the first and said second nudger rollers are in a second position when a tray of a second type is connected to said feeder. The tray of a first type may be a shingle feed tray and the tray of a second type may be a stacks feed tray. With the shingle feed tray the first position for the first and the second nudger rollers are where each nudger roller engages each media item in a shingles tray when each such media item is positioned in the shingles tray to exit the shingles tray and to be moved from the shingles tray into said feeder. With the stacks feed tray the second position for the first and the second nudger rollers are where the first nudger roller is positioned out of engagement with media items in a stacks tray and the second nudger rollers is positioned to each engage each media item in the stacks tray when each such media item is positioned in said stacks tray to exit the stacks tray and to be moved from the stacks tray into said feeder.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application ofThomas M. Lyga, Carl R. Chapman and James A. Fairweather, Ser. No.11/084,233, filed Mar. 18, 2005 for PAPER HANDLING SYSTEM MATERIAL FEEDPATH ARRANGEMENT and assigned to Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn.

This application for MULTIMODE STACK AND SHINGLE DOCUMENT FEEDER, filed______, 2005, in the names of James A. Fairweather, Thomas M. Lyga andTheresa Bartick includes: partial common; inventorship, drawings, anddetailed description; and common: filing date and assignee with: U.S.application (Attorney Docket No. F-979) Ser. No. ______, for SHINGLEMODE MEDIA ITEM FEED ARRANGEMENT, filed ______, 2005, in the names ofTheresa Bartick, Donald Surprise, Norman R. Lilly, James A. Fairweather;and (Attorney Docket No. G-111) Ser. No. ______, for SHINGLE MEDIA ITEMFEED TRAY WITH SPRING LOADED SELF LOCKING SLED, filed ______, 2005, inthe names of James A. Fairweather, Donald Surprise, James A. Salomon,Norman R. Lilly and Thomas M. Lyga

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to paper handling systems, such as,printers, folders or inserter systems, and more particularly to amultimode stack and shingle document feeder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various paper handling systems are designed to process a wide variety ofmedia items. These media items may be of various sizes and shapes and ofvarious types of materials and documents. For example, if the mediaitems are envelopes, to accommodate and process a volume of items, theenvelope may be shingled in a shingle feed tray. However, if the itemsare sheets, such as 8-½×11 paper, to accommodate and process a volume ofsheets, the items may be stacked in a stacks feed tray. When these mediaitems are moved from the shingle or stacks feed tray into the feedermechanism, as the case may be, the items are separated from the othermedia in the tray for processing in the system.

To obtain reliable media item separation in the separation operation,the input mechanism of existing media handling systems are limited tospecific media geometry due to a number of compromises that must be madein the presentation of the media items to the feeder. The optimalpresentation of the media to the separator is a complex problem that isconstrained by the geometry of the media being fed, the form ofseparator, the desired form of human interaction with the system, thecontrol of the stack force during feeding, and other factors.

In certain inserter products, for example, all media items are fed froma shingled stack of items. This is a logical set up and orientation forshort media items such as ⅓ to ½ document length (such as 8-½×11 inches)media items, including trifold media items, envelopes, and smallbooklets. The format is cumbersome for sheets, such as 8-½×11 inchsheets of paper. The conflicting angles at which the various media(stacked sheets vs. shingled envelopes) advance down the tray can causewide variations in stack normal force and compromise the feeder'sability to separate the media. Accordingly, separate input points withfeeder mechanisms or the need for operator intervention to change thefeeder mechanism for the type of feed tray, shingle or stacks, and thetype of media, are frequently employed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to reduce the need for separatefeeder input points for various types of media items.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a flexiblefeeder for separating and feeding a wide variety of media items fromdifferent types of feed trays.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a singlefeeder mechanism which operates to separate and feed media items from astacks or a shingle feed tray.

A feeder for feeding media items from a tray embodying the presentinvention includes a first nudger roller and a second nudger roller. Thefirst and the second nudger roller are moveably mounted to the feeder.The first and the second nudger rollers are in a first position when atray of a first type is connected to the feeder. The first and thesecond nudger rollers are in a second position when a tray of a secondtype is connected to the feeder.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a feeder forfeeding media items from a detachable tray includes a first nudgerroller and a second nudger roller. The first and the second nudgerroller are moveably mounted to the feeder. The first and the secondnudger rollers are in a first position when a shingles tray of mediaitems is connected to the feeder such that the first and the secondnudger rollers are positioned to each engage each media item in theshingles tray when each such media item is positioned in the shinglestray to exit the shingles tray and to be moved from the shingles trayinto the feeder. The first and the second nudger rollers are in a secondposition when a stacks tray of media items is connected to the feedersuch that the first nudger roller is positioned out of engagement withmedia items in the tray and said second nudger rollers is positioned toeach engage each media item in the stacks tray when each such media itemis positioned in the stacks tray to exit the stacks tray and to be movedfrom the stacks tray into the feeder.

In a feeder for feeding media items from a tray of a first type and atray of a second type and having a first nudger roller and a secondnudger roller, a method embodying the present invention includes thesteps of moving the first and the second nudger rollers into a firstposition when the tray of a first type is connected to the feeder andmoving the first and the second nudger rollers into a second positionwhen the tray of the second type is connected to the feeder.

Another method embodying the present invention includes the steps ofconnecting a stacks feed tray to a feeder having a feed head assembly.Enabling the rotation of a the feedhead assembly over a first range ofrotation by the connecting of the stacks feed tray to the feeder.Connecting a shingles feed tray to the feeder. Enabling the rotation ofthe feedhead asembly over a second range of rotation by the connectingof the shingles feed tray the feeder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is now made the various figures wherein similar referencenumerals designate similar items in the various views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shingle feed tray for media itemsembodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a feeder adapted to work inconjunction with the feed tray shown in FIG. 1 and embodying aspects ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the feeder shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cut away perspective side view of the shingle feed trayshown in FIG. 1 connected to the feeder shown in FIGS. 2 and 3illustrating how the shingle feed tray engages and operates inconjunction with the feeder;

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are side views of the mechanism shown in FIG. 4, withdifferent volumes of shingled media in the shingle feed tray;

FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are side views of a stacks media feed tray connectedto the feeder shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, illustrating how the stacks feedtray engages and operates in conjunction with engaging the feeder andwith different volumes of stacked media in the stacks feed tray; and,

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a feeder system with a common mediafeed arrangement having detachable stacks and shingle feed trays andemploying feeders of the type shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference is now made to the various figures. A shingle media feed tray102 includes moveable side guides 104 and 106 adapted to contact theedges of media items loaded into the tray. The side guides 104 and 106help guide media items as they are moved toward the exit area 108 of thetray 102 from the rear area 110 of the tray 102. The tray includes abottom surface 112 onto which are mounted a shaped rail such as taperedrail 114 and two support rails 116 and 118. The support rails 116 and118 are designed to support the bottom edge of shingled media loadedinto the shingle tray 102 and are higher, rising above the surface ofthe tapered sled rail 114. The rails 116 and 118 may have a thickness of6 millimeters, however, the thickness of the rails is not critical. Therails are designed to support the media bottom edge and provide a lowfriction surface over which the material can be advance toward thefeedhead.

The side guides 104 and 106 may be moved in and out of engagement withthe sides of media items loaded into the shingle tray receptacle area119 for a plurality of media items. The side guides 104 and 106 may beoperated by any conventional mechanism or in the manner shown in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/123,617 filed on May 6, 2005 by James A.Solomon, Donald Surprise and Christopher D. Clarke entitled DETACHABLEFEED TRAY WITH SELF-ADJUSTING SIDE GUIDES and assigned to Pitney BowesInc.

The side guides 104 and 106 each engage the side edges of the mediaitems along the entire length of each side guides. The area of the sideguides 120 and 122 toward the exit area 102 are of a greater height thanother the portions of the side guides. 104 and 106. This is to providegreater lateral guidance of the media item edges adjacent the exit area108. The lower portions of the side guides 104 and 106 facilitateloading of media items into the tray. Side guide 106 is the mirror imageof side guide 104, with section 122 as the mirror image of section 120

If desired for any particular application, the side guides 104 and 106each may be dimensioned, in an alternate arrangement not shown, to havea section toward the exit area 108 of the tray which does not engage theside edges of media items. In such alternative arrangement, the sectionsof the side guide 120 and 122 would be modified and configured to be outof engagement with media item side edges adjacent the exit area 108.

The side guides 104 and 106 as shown in the various figures include asection 124 shown on side guide 104 and a section 125 on side guide 106that drop away from and are below the surface of rails 116 and 118 andsurface 112 of the tray. This forms two cavity areas shown generally at126 and 128, toward the front area 108 of the tray 102. In this area ofthe tray 102, media items moving toward the exit area 108 of the shingletray are supported on the bottom edge solely on the support rails 116and 118. Accordingly, in this area, media items such as envelopes, whichhave four edges are supported in the tray on their bottom edge solely bythe support rails 116 and 118. The area of the tray where the bottomedge the media items is supported by and engaged by the two supportrails 116 and 118 is denoted by the line 130 with two arrow heads. Theside edges the media items are guided by the tray 102 by side guides 104and 106. Additional support for the media items are from adjacent mediaitems with the last media item to exit the tray 102 having additionalsupport from sled 150.

Line 130 denotes the length of the support rails 116 and 118 between thefront of the support rails (arrow head 130a) and the surface 125 of sideguide 104 (arrow head 130 b). Arrow heads 130 a and 130 b touch thedashed lines, signifying, respectively, the front of the rails 116 and118 and surface 125. The corresponding surface for guide 106 is surface127. The media items thus exit the tray 102 supported by rails 116 and118 as they pass through the cavity areas 126 and 128 into a feeder orother mechanism. The length of the support rails 116 and 118 denoted byline 130 is 60 millimeters. However, the length is a matter of designchoice and involves tradeoffs between the specified capacity of thefeeder, the maximum acceptable height of the tray above the workingsurface, and the overall specification of system. The length of thesupport rails 130 is also involves a compromise between the desire forstructural integrity, and the need to create cavity areas 126 and 128 ofsufficient size as to accommodate shingle material having imperfectionssuch as curl, corner deformations, and irregular cross-sections that mayresult in uneven bending.

The tray 102 includes an out of media sensor 132 and two rubber pads 134and 136 at the edge of the exit area 108 of the tray 102. The rubberpads 134 and 136 help with the singulation of media as the media ismoved into the feeder. A magnet 138 is provided to cooperate with amechanism in the feeder so that the feeder can sense the type of feedtray inserted into the feeder, here shingle-type feed tray 102. Theshingle feed tray 102 includes two up-stop tabs 140 and 142, whichcooperate with a feeder nudger roller mechanisms to properly positionthe feeder feedhead assembly 160, and thus the nudger rollers 166 and170, with respect to the media items in the feed tray. A second magnet144 cooperates with the out of media items sensor 132 to provideinformation to the feeder regarding the status of the feed tray. Arms146 and 148 are operable to engage with the feeder mechanism to positionand lock the shingle tray 102 into proper position with respect to thefeeder.

The shingle tray 102 includes a spring-driven sled 150 which is mountedto the tapered sled rail 114. The sled 150 includes a handle 152 whichis collapsible to pivot around the pivot 154. The handle 152 can beoperated to rotate down toward the bottom surface 112 of the tray 102.The positioning of the handle 152 adjacent to the tray surface 112facilitates loading of media items into the tray receptacle area 119.Different volumes of shingled media items may be loaded into the trayreceptacle area 119 and the sled 150 moved to engage the last media itemloaded into receptacle area 119.

A feeder 183 includes a feed head assembly 160 having a frame 162 whichis adapted to rotate around a pivot 164. The frame 162 and thus feedhead assembly 160 rotate around the pivot 164 into the appropriateposition when a shingle or a stack feed tray is engaged with the feedermechanism. The pivot 164 is connected to a frame 207 which provides theground or base for the pivot 164 around which the feed head assembly 160rotates. The feed head assembly 160 includes an upper nudger roller 165having two nudger roller elements 166 and 168 and a lower nudger roller170 having a series of ribbed surfaces. The two nudger roller elements166 and 168 are positioned equidistant from the center line of the pathof movement of media items from the shingle feed tray 102. Various typesof nudger roller arrangements may be employed. For example, the uppernudger roller may be a single element nudger roller and the lower nudgerroller can have three nudger roller elements. Selection of the heightand width of each nudger assembly is done with the goals of minimizingskew, and controlling the attitude of the approaching shingled stack.The assembly 160 also includes a separator roller 172, which cooperateswith a feed roller 174. A take-away roller 176 is also provided. Thedrive to the various rollers is provided by a belt drive system 178.

The feed head assembly 160 includes two recessed areas 180 and 182. Whena shingle media tray is engaged with the feed head assembly 160, themedia items are supported on rails 116 and 118, as shown in FIG. 1,until the media is moved into operative engagement with the separatorroller 172 and the feed roller 174. In this manner, the media itemsbeing transitioned from the shingle tray 102 into the feed head assembly160 are not caused to skew by any forces on the edges of the media itemsdue to either friction with the portions of the shingle tray or frictionwith portions of the feed mechanism. Bending of the media item does notoccur until the media item is fully captured between the separatorroller 172 and feed roller 174. The front of the feeder 183 includes twoup-stop feeder contact surfaces 184 and 186. These feeder contactsurfaces cooperate with and are engaged with the two up-stop tabs 140and 142 of the shingle feed tray 102.

As is shown in FIG. 4, the tray 102 up-stop tab 142 engages the sheetmetal portion 184 to lock and limit the upward or counterclockwiserotation of the feed head assembly 160 around the pivot 164 to a minimalrotation for feeding shingled media items. This minimal rotation is notrelated to the volume of shingled media items in shingle feed tray 102.The stops cooperate to position the nudger rollers 165 and 170 to beproperly oriented so that both nudger rollers engage shingled mediaitems exiting the feed tray 102 as they are moved on the support rail118 and the support rail 116 (not shown in FIG. 4) into operativeengagement with the separator roller 172 and the feed roller 174.

A shingled stack of media items shown as envelopes 190, as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6, are loaded into the shingle feed tray 102. The surface ofthe handle 152 engages the rearmost envelope in the shingled stack. Thetwo nudger rollers 166 and 170 are shown engaging the envelope in thestack 190 closest to the exit point of the tray. The envelope 190a willbe moved under the pressure of the spring loaded sled 150 and theoperation of the nudger rollers 166 and 170 along the support rail 116and support rail 118 (not shown in FIG. 5) into operative engagementwith the separator roller 172 and the feed roller 174.

A cam surface 192 in the lower surface of the tray 102 cooperates with acam follower locking tab projection 194 attached to the handle of 152 ofthe sled 150. The function of the cam 192 is to ensure that the handleis cammed to the position shown where it is positioned to supportshingled media items as the sled is moved toward the front of the tray102. Accordingly, after the media items are loaded into the tray 102with the handle in the collapsed position, as the sled is moved towardthe media exit end of the tray, the handle 152 is caused to rotate in acounterclockwise direction to be properly positioned to support theshingle media in the correct orientation for cooperation with the feedhead assembly 160 and, more specifically, the feeder nudger rollers 165and 170.

The stack of media items 190 is smaller, as shown in FIG. 6, than thestack of media items shown in FIG. 5. Accordingly, in FIG. 6, the sled150 is located closer to the exit area of the shingle feed tray ascompared to FIG. 5. The sled 150 and the energy stored in the sledspring (not shown in FIG. 6) has been employed to help move the mediaitems into the feed head assembly 160.

A stacks feed tray 200 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is connected to the feedhead assembly 160. The top-most item of the stack of media items 202 isin engagement with only the lower nudger roller 170. With the stacksfeed tray 200 connected into the feed head assembly 160, the feed headassembly is pivoted such that the upper nudger roller 166 does notengage the stacked media items 202. A top group of the stacked mediaitems shown at 204 has been moved forward in the stack and is shownengaging the separator roller 172 and its associated feed roller 174 tosingulate the media items out of the stacks feed tray 200 and into thefeeder 183.

The stacks feed tray 200 is connected to the outer frame 206 of thefeeder 183 and does not lock or prevent the feed head assembly 160 frompivoting around the pivot 164 as is the case with shingle feed tray 102where only a minimal rotation is enabled and which is not related to thevolume of shingled media items in tray 102. The feed head assemblypivots due to the weight of the feed head assembly 160. The position ofthe feed head assembly 160 depends upon the amount of media items 202 inthe stacks feed tray 200 and its relationship to the lower nudger roller170. As media is singulated and fed into the feeder, the volume of themedia item stack 202 is reduced. As is shown in FIG. 8, the feed headassembly 160 rotates in a clockwise direction such that the lower nudgerroller 170 remains in appropriate contact with the top most media itemin the stack of media items 202. This also provides support for thestacks feed tray 200, which locks into place by means of a lockingmechanism (not shown). Any suitable tray locking mechanism may beemployed, such as the system similar to arms 146 and 148 of the shinglefeed tray.

As can be seen from the various figures, the feed head assembly is freeto move in a rotational direction as the stack of media items from thestacks feed tray 200 is depleted. In contrast, the feed head assembly160 is not free to rotate when a shingle feed tray, such as tray 102, isconnected to the feed head assembly. In such case, the feed headassembly 160 is locked from rotation in a pre-determined position withonly minimal rotation for feeding enabled by the two up-stop tabs 140and 142 in cooperation with the feeder contact surfaces 184 and 186.This minimal feed head assembly 160 rotation is to provide the gap forshingled media items to be fed out of the shingle feed tray 102.

The shingle feed tray 102, when engaged with the feeder 183, as is shownin FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, provides approximately a 4 mm gap for shingledmedia items to be fed out of the shingle feed tray 102. The particulargap size is a matter of design choice. The gap is provided for ashingled media item to move under the nudger roller 170 and into the nipof the separator roller 174 and feed roller 172. The movement of thefeed head assembly along this small gap is limited in its clockwisedirection by the engagement of the two up-stop tabs 140 and 142 and thetwo contact surfaces 172 and 186. The clockwise rotation is limited bythe interference of the nudger roller 170 and the surface of the shinglefeed tray tapered sled rail 114. When the media items have been depletedor are otherwise not in the shingle feed tray 102, the lower nudgerroller 170 rests on the portion of the tapered rail adjacent to the outof paper sensor 132. The two tapered rails slope downward below thetapered sled rail. The tapering of the rails brings the lead edge of theadvancing material into direct contact with the tapered sled rail andthe two retard pads 134 and 136. The contact initiated with the retardpads 134 and 136 acts as a secondary separation mechanism that reducesthe propensity of the feed system to present a multitude of shingledelements to the separation system.

The first and second nudgers 166 and 170 are mounted with a fixedrelationship to the feeder 183. The system is arranged such that thefeedhead assembly 160 is in a fixed position when the shingle tray 102is connected to the feeder183. The feedhead assemby 160 is free torotate through a multitude of positions when the stacks tray 200 isconnected to the feeder 183. The nudgers 166 and 170 are rigidly mountedto the feeder 183, and the communication between the tray and feedheadassembly 160 sets the appropriate relationship between the nudgers 166and 170 and the media. The feedhead assembly 160 pivots freely when thestacks tray 200 is fitted to the feeder 183, and is constrained to avery small rotation when the shingle tray 102 is fitted to the feeder183. With the shingle tray 102 fit, the nudgers 166 and 170 to trayrelationship is determined by the fixed geometry of the feedheadassembly 160 and the relationship between the tray and the feedheadassembly 160. Other arrangements for mounting the nudger rollers can beemployed. For example, the nudgers can be mounted so that they moveindependently of the feedhead assembly 160.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9. A folder inserter system includesvertical tower feed station 304 with a common material feed area. Thesystem employs feeders and shingle and stacks feed trays of the typeshown in the various figures. The tower feed station 304 provides acommon feed area having detachable feed trays and associated feedmechanisms. The feed station 304 includes four separate detachable feedtrays 306, 308, 310 and 312 for envelopes, sheets and inserts.Detachable feed tray 306 is a shingle envelope feed tray. Detachablefeed tray 308 is a stacks sheet feed tray. Detachable feed tray 310 is astacks sheet feed tray. Detach able feed tray 312 is a shingle insertfeed tray. Various numbers and types of detachable feed trays andassociated feeder mechanism can be included in the vertical tower feedstation 304.

Although the detachable feed trays show in FIG. 9 are shown as havingenvelopes, sheets and inserts, each of these feed trays can feed othertypes of media, which can be loaded (depending on the feed tray type) ina stacks or shingle orientation depending on the media involved. Thus,many types of material or media can be fed by any feed stationmechanism. The materials or media can be, for example, pamphlets,brochures, return envelopes, cards, booklets, slips and checks.Identical feed mechanisms are shown for each of the four feeders 306,308, 310 and 312.

Each of the four feeder mechanisms, such as feeder 314, includes a feedhead mechanism in the vertical tower and an associated detachable feedtray such as detachable feed tray 306. The mechanisms in the verticaltower for each of the feeders are identical in structure, as previouslynoted. The media (for example envelopes) in the detachable feed tray 306are fed from the tray by the singulator arrangement including a driveroller 318 and retard roller 320. The media is fed from the tray, asdepicted by line 313, along the feed head exit guide 322 by take awayrollers 324 and associated idler roller 324a to a vertical common feedpath 326 by the tower drive rollers 328, 330, and 332, with theirassociated idler rollers respectively 328 a, 330 a, and 332 a. As themedia exits the vertical tower transport path 326, it may be moved ontovarious media item processing subsystems.

The term media item is intended herein to be a broad term and to includemail pieces such as various types of mail pieces such as letter mail,postcards and flats. The United States Postal Service (USPS) considersmail pieces to be flats when the mail piece exceeds at least one of thedimensional regulations of letter-sized mail (e.g. over 11.5 incheslong, over 6⅛ inches tall, or over ¼ inch thick) but does not exceed 15¾inches by 12 inches by 1¼ inch thick. Flats include such mail aspamphlets, annual reports and the like. Other examples of media itemsinclude sheets of paper, checks, booklets, slips, cards, envelopes,packages of greeting cards, and any other items that can be fed from ashingle or stacks type feed tray. Accordingly, while the detaileddescription is directed to the processing envelopes, any other suitablemedia items can be substituted for such media items in the description.Additionally, different types and arrangements of nudger rollers may beemployed as well as pivoting and latching mechanisms for the rollers orfor the feed head assembly and trays. Other configurations may beemployed where the nudgers rollers move and/or pivot, under action fromthe feed trays or other means, to create the appropriate geometricrelationship between the media being fed out and the nudger rollers.Various arrangements of feed and separator rollers or drives may beemployed for feeding and separating the media from the stack of mediaitems in the trays. Moreover, the feedhead assembly can have variousconfigurations and combinations of rollers types to accommodate variousapplications and equipment arrangements. In addition, elevator traymechanisms may be arranged with the feedhead to form a productive feedsystem as in high capacity media item feeder implementations.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatis presently considered to be the most practical and preferredembodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited tothe disclosed embodiment, but, on the contrary, is intended to covervarious modifications and equivalent arrangements included within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray, comprising: a firstnudger roller and a second nudger roller, said first and said secondnudger roller moveably mounted to said feeder; said first and saidsecond nudger rollers in a first position when a tray of a first type isconnected to said feeder; and, said first and said second nudger rollersin a second position when a tray of a second type is connected to saidfeeder.
 2. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray as defined inclaim 1 wherein said first position when a tray of said first type isconnected to said feeder is such that said first and said second nudgerrollers are positioned to each engage each media item in said tray ofsaid first type when each such media item is positioned in said tray toexit said tray of said first type and to be moved from said tray of saidfirst type into said feeder.
 3. A feeder for feeding media items from atray as defined in claim 1 wherein said second position when a tray of asecond type is connected to said feeder is such that said first nudgerroller is positioned out of engagement with each media items in saidtray of said second type and said second nudger rollers is positioned toeach engage each media item in said tray of said second type when eachsuch media item is positioned in said tray to exit said tray and to bemoved from said tray into said feeder.
 4. A feeder for feeding mediaitems from a tray as defined in claim 1 wherein said first position whena tray of said first type is connected to said feeder is such that saidfirst and said second nudger rollers are positioned to each engage eachmedia item in said tray of said first type when each such media item ispositioned in said tray to exit said tray of said first type and to bemoved from said tray of said first type into said feeder and whereinsaid second position when a tray of a second type is connected to saidfeeder is such that said first nudger roller is positioned out ofengagement with each media items in said tray of said second type andsaid second nudger rollers is positioned to each engage each media itemin said tray of said second type when each such media item is positionedin said tray to exit said tray and to be moved from said tray into saidfeeder.
 5. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray as defined inclaim 4 wherein said first nudger roller includes plural nudgerelements.
 6. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray as defined inclaim 4 wherein said plural nudger elements are two nudger elementspositioned equidistant from the center line of the path of movement ofmedia items from said tray of a first type when said tray is connectedto said feeder.
 7. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray asdefined in claim 4 wherein said second nudger roller includes a seriesof ribbed surfaces.
 8. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray asdefined in claim 2 wherein said tray of said first type is connected tosaid feeder such that that said first and said second nudger rollers areprevented from movement due to depletion of a stack of media items insaid tray of said first type as media items are moved from a stack ofmedia items in said tray of said first type into said feeder.
 9. Afeeder for feeding media items from a detachable tray as defined inclaim 1 wherein said first and said second nudger roller moveablymounted to said frame such that when said tray of said first type isconnected to said feeder said first and said second nudger rollers aremoved into said first position and when said tray of said second type isconnected to said feeder said first and said second nudger rollers aremoved into said second position.
 10. A feeder for feeding media itemsfrom a tray as defined in claim 2 wherein said tray of said second typeis connected to said feeder such that that said second nudger roller isenabled for movement due to depletion of a stack of media items in saidtray of said second type as media items are moved from a stack of mediaitems in said tray of said first into said feeder.
 11. A feeder forfeeding media items from a detachable tray, comprising: a first nudgerroller and a second nudger roller, said first and said second nudgerroller moveably mounted to said feeder; said first and said secondnudger rollers in a first position when a shingles tray of media itemsis connected to said feeder such that said first and said second nudgerrollers are positioned to each engage each media item in said shinglestray when each such media item is positioned in said shingles tray toexit said shingles tray and to be moved from said shingles tray intosaid feeder; and, said first and said second nudger rollers in a secondposition when a stacks tray of media items is connected to said feedersuch that said first nudger roller is positioned out of engagement withmedia items in said tray and said second nudger rollers is positioned toeach engage each media item in said stacks tray when each such mediaitem is positioned in said stacks tray to exit said stacks tray and tobe moved from said stacks tray into said feeder.
 12. A feeder forfeeding media items from a tray as defined in claim 11 wherein saidfirst nudger roller includes plural nudger elements.
 13. A feeder forfeeding media items from a tray as defined in claim 12 wherein saidplural nudger elements are two nudger elements positioned equidistantfrom the center line of the path of movement of media items from saidshingle tray when said shingle tray is connected to said feeder.
 14. Afeeder for feeding media items from a tray as defined in claim 12wherein said second nudger roller includes a series of ribbed surfaces.15. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray as defined in claim 11wherein said shingle tray is connected to said feeder such that thatsaid first and said second nudger rollers are prevented from movementdue to depletion of a stack of media items in said shingle tray as mediaitems are moved from a stack of media items in said shingle tray intosaid feeder.
 16. A feeder for feeding media items from a tray as definedin claim 11 wherein said stacks tray is connected to said feeder suchthat that said second nudger roller is enabled for movement due todepletion of a stack of media items in said stacks tray as media itemsare moved from the stack of media items in said shingle tray into saidfeeder.
 17. A feeder for feeding media items from a detachable tray asdefined in claim 11 wherein the said shingle feed tray and said stacksfeed tray are each connect to said feeder such that the connection ofeach of said trays causes said nudger rollers to be properly positionedfor operation with the tray.
 18. In a feeder for feeding media itemsfrom a tray of a first type and a tray of a second type and having afirst nudger roller and a second nudger roller, a method comprising thesteps of: moving said first and said second nudger rollers into a firstposition when said tray of a first type is connected to said feeder;and, moving said first and said second nudger rollers into a secondposition when said tray of a second type is connected to said feeder.19. A method as defined in claim 18 wherein said first position when atray of said first type is connected to said feeder is such that saidfirst and said second nudger rollers are positioned to each engage eachmedia item in said tray of said first type when each such media item ispositioned in said tray to exit said tray of said first type and to bemoved from said tray of said first type into said feeder.
 20. A methodas defined in claim 18 wherein said second position when a tray of asecond type is connected to said feeder is such that said first nudgerroller is positioned out of engagement with each media items in saidtray of said second type and said second nudger rollers is positioned toeach engage each media item in said tray of said second type when eachsuch media item is positioned in said tray to exit said tray and to bemoved from said tray into said feeder.
 21. A method as defined in claim18 wherein said first position when a tray of said first type isconnected to said feeder is such that said first and said second nudgerrollers are positioned to each engage each media item in said tray ofsaid first type when each such media item is positioned in said tray toexit said tray of said first type and to be moved from said tray of saidfirst type into said feeder and wherein said second position when a trayof a second type is connected to said feeder is such that said firstnudger roller is positioned out of engagement with each media items insaid tray of said second type and said second nudger rollers ispositioned to each engage each media item in said tray of said secondtype when each such media item is positioned in said tray to exit saidtray and to be moved from said tray into said feeder.
 22. A method asdefined in claim 18 further comprising the step of: preventing saidfirst and said second nudger rollers from movement due to depletion of astack of media items in said tray of said first type as media items aremoved from a stack of media items in said tray of said first type intosaid feeder when said tray of said first type is connected to saidfeeder.
 23. A method as defined in claim 18 further comprising the stepof: enabling said second nudger roller for movement due to depletion ofa stack of media items in said tray of said second type as media itemsare moved from a stack of media items in said tray of said first intosaid feeder when said tray of said second type is connected to saidfeeder.
 24. A method as defined in claim 18 further comprising the stepsof: preventing said first and said second nudger rollers from movementdue to depletion of a stack of media items in said tray of said firsttype as media items are moved from a stack of media items in said trayof said first type into said feeder when said tray of said first type isconnected to said feeder and enabling said second nudger roller formovement due to depletion of a stack of media items in said tray of saidsecond type as media items are moved from a stack of media items in saidtray of said first into said feeder when said tray of said second typeis connected to said feeder.
 25. In a feeder for feeding media itemsfrom a tray of a stacks feed tray and a shingles feed tray and having afeedhead assembly, a method comprising the steps of: connecting saidstacks feed tray to said feeder; enabling the rotation of said feedheadassembly over a first range of rotation by connecting said stacks feedtray to said feeder; connecting a shingles feed tray to said feeder;enabling the rotation of said feedhead asembly over a second range ofrotation by connecting said shingles feed tray to said feeder.
 26. Amethod as defined in claim 25 wherein said second range of rotation issmaller than said first range of rotation.
 27. A method as defined inclaim 26 wherein said first range of rotation is related to the amountof media said stacks feed tray is adapted to accommodate and said secondrange of rotation is unrelated to the amount of media in said shinglesfeed tray is adapted to accomodate.